Hospital Injuries

A Dedicated Attorney Can Help Recover Compensation

Hospital injuries are often the products of negligence and malpractice, and could be prevented if the healthcare system resolved the gaps in its standards of care. Unfortunately, in Idaho, the "locality rule" is in place, which means that doctors aren't held to a national standard of care at all. Instead, they are held to the standard set by a more immediate geographical area. Hospitals are still liable for their employees' actions, though, including negligent ones that result in injury. Infections, injuries upon discharge, birth injuries and malpractice in the emergency room are only some of the events that can occur.

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If you or a loved one was injured while in the care of a hospital, you need representation. The Law Firm of Joseph F. Brown, MD, JD, PLLC - Physician and Attorney at Law knows how to approach a malpractice case with every intent to bring it to trial and demand justice for the victims of hospital negligence. Hospital errors can permanently disable or kill their victims. Brain and spinal injuries are common, as are nerve damage, damage to discs, and oxygen cutoff. Thankfully, our firm knows how to handle these difficult cases, and we want to hear your story. Contact us for a free consultation with an attorney today.

When do hospital injuries occur?

Often, hospital injuries originate in the emergency room. These can include a patient being incorrectly triaged, leading to them not receiving the care that they need for a potentially severe condition.

Hospital injuries also happen during procedures such as:

Inserting IVs and catheters

Administering injections, resulting in shoulder injuries such as SIRVA

Removing or inserting sutures

Moving a patient (they may be dropped, or suffer a slip and fall)

Hospital Infections

Caused by either viral, bacterial or fungal pathogens, some of the more common occurrences of hospital injuries involves infections. These can happen from using dirty equipment (especially syringes) and severely injure a patient. There are several types of common infection that usually develop from hospital errors:

Bloodstream infection (BSI)

Pneumonia

Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)

Surgical Site Infection (SSI)

These types may be caused by dirty instruments, misuse of catheters, and failures of medical personnel to wash their hands. While not all are pathogenic and some have sprung from microbial colonization, proper procedures must be followed in order to prevent or treat these infections that can easily affect a pre-existing condition, or cause another. Sometimes these infections can result in lengthy hospital stays, which will result in missed time from work and thus lost income and quality of life.

Discharge Injuries

Injuries during hospital discharge are preventable with the right amount of proper care. Patients who are discharged while still ill, experiencing symptoms, or do not think it advisable to return home may be susceptible to discharge injuries, as are the very young or elderly. Frail patients can easily suffer a slip and fall accident upon discharge if proper aftercare isn't arranged, and wounds can quickly become infected after re-dressing if instructions on upkeep are not given.

If you think that you or a loved one has suffered a discharge injury, you need representation from a skilled lawyer now. Our firm brings experience and the unique approach of a physician who knows how the medical system works.

Emergency Room Malpractice

In an emergency room, patients want to be seen as quickly as possible for conditions deemed too severe to wait, or referred by an Urgent Care facility. These include chest pains and numbness or pain in the upper body that can be associated with a heart attack, numbness on one side of the face and slurred speech-a common symptom of a stroke, hallucinations or threats of suicide. Upon arrival, patients are triaged, meaning that the severity of their conditions. Having a patient wait too long, or not taking their symptoms seriously can spell disaster for the person needing treatment.

Emergency room malpractice can also involve misreading or misinterpreting lab results and tests and misuse of equipment, among many other possible occurrences leading to patient injury.

Contact us today

We offer a unique approach to medical malpractice cases. Attorney Joseph F. Brown combines the unique background of a licensed physician and practicing attorney. A free case evaluation gives you the opportunity to speak to an attorney risk-free, and see if you may have a case. Patients have rights. Protect yours and contact us today.